Unanswered: Install XP on Win 7 laptop

I have a shiny new core i5 laptop with Win 7 Home Premium on it.
None of my employer's archaic systems work very well with it - they require XP.

I don't really want to bother with upgrading to Win 7 Pro and running virtual XP...sounds messy.
Will someone like PC World uninstall Win 7 and do a clean install of XP for me if I pay them?
Will they do it same day?
Should I just buy a Mac and install XP on that instead; if I boot it as an XP Machine will it still be able to use security/vpn dongles designed for Windows?
Please help me.
Pfaffing around with pointless IT Support Calls and a useless IT Intranet FAQs etc is driving me absolutely nuts